Swedish rock institution The Hellacopters will mark another milestone in their thirtieth anniversary year with the release of Cream Of The Crap! Collected Non-Album Works . Volume 3, due on 13 February 2026. The set closes a gap that has lingered since the second instalment of the series appeared more than twenty years ago, and it arrives soon after the group’s chart-topping ninth album Overdriver, released in January 2025, which delivered the band a No. 1 in Sweden and a top ten berth in Germany.
The new compilation continues a long-running excavation project that began in 2002, drawing together out-of-print singles, EP tracks, vinyl oddities, limited CD releases, and previously unavailable digital recordings. The Hellacopters have built a reputation for treating their archive with genuine care, and this newly restored set illustrates how deeply that ethos runs.
Volume 3 assembles 24 recordings originally issued between 1998 and 2005, bridging a formative era in the band’s story. The collection blends high-energy originals, including Disappointment Blues, Freeway To Hell, Doggone Your Bad-Luck Soul, Ferrytale, and Long Gone Losers, with ferocious covers spanning Motörhead, Wilson Pickett, MC5, Smokey Robinson, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Alice Cooper, The Ramones, Radio Birdman and more. Material from The Nomads, Adam West, whose vocalist Jake Starr contributes liner notes, also features prominently.
Much of this music has never appeared on streaming services, and many tracks existed only on vinyl or obscure CD pressings. For this edition, drummer Robert Eriksson assembled the track selection, while Henke Jonsson handled transfers from original tapes and vinyl, and Magnus Lindberg delivered a fresh remaster to maximise audio clarity across the double vinyl, CD and digital formats.
The first preview of the set comes via a remastered edition of Long Gone Losers, first released on the 1998 Disappointment Blues EP.
CREAM OF THE CRAP! VOLUME 3 – TRACKLIST
Long Gone Losers
Pack Of Lies (The Nomads cover)
Her Strut (Bob Seger cover)
Little Miss Sweetness (The Temptations cover)
Oh Yeah Allright!
I Get A Sensation (Adam West cover)
Disappointment Blues
American Ruse (MC5 cover)
Ferrytale (1998 version)
Whole Lot Of Shakin´ In My Heart (Since I Met You) (Smokey Robinson cover)
I’m Eighteen (Alice Cooper cover)
Sent En Lördagkväll (Nationalteatern cover) *
Working For MCA (Lynyrd Skynyrd cover)
Boney Maronie (Larry Williams cover)
A Man And A Half (Wilson Pickett cover)
455 SD (Radio Birdman cover)
Freeway To Hell
Get Ready (Smokey Robinson cover)
Doggone Your Badluck Soul
Stab Your Back (Damned cover)
Heaven (Scott Morgan cover)
What´d Ya Do? (Ramones cover)
Speedfreak (Motörhead cover)
Ungrounded Confusion (The Flaming Sideburns cover)
*Physical editions only.
Release Date: 13 February 2026
The Hellacopters formed in 1994 when Entombed drummer Nicke Andersson teamed with Dregen of Backyard Babies, rounded out by bassist Kenny Håkansson and drummer Robert Eriksson. Their debut Supershitty To The Max!, recorded live in just 26 hours, landed them a Swedish Grammy in 1996 and set off a prolific period of output that defined the country’s garage rock resurgence.
Following Payin’ The Dues in 1998 and the departure of Dregen soon after, the group reshaped its lineup and broadened its sound through Grande Rock in 1999 and High Visibility in 2000, by which point Anders Lindström had become a permanent fixture. The band’s combination of Detroit-inspired rock, punk roots, classic 1970s tones and a revolving door of influential collaborators built a style recognised as one of Sweden’s most important contributions to modern rock.
During the 2000s, The Hellacopters delivered By The Grace Of God, Rock & Roll Is Dead, Head Off, and two early editions of Cream Of The Crap, before disbanding in 2008. They reunited in 2016 for the twentieth anniversary of their debut and have remained active since, returning to studio work with Eyes Of Oblivion in 2022, followed by Overdriver three years later.
The last few years have seen The Hellacopters reach new heights. Their support slot with Iron Maiden in 2022, European dates with Ghost in 2023, and the two-version Grande Rock Revisited release in 2024 re-cemented their status as one of Europe’s enduring rock forces. The high-impact single Stay With You in 2024 confirmed that the band’s creative well continues to run deep.
With Cream Of The Crap! Collected Non-Album Works . Volume 3, The Hellacopters close a historic loop, offering collectors and new listeners a deep dive into a crucial chapter of their evolution.
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